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X-WR-CALDESC:<i>During the winter season\, that is\, from the first of Nove
 mber until Easter\, it seems reasonable to arise at the eighth hour of the
  night. By sleeping until a little past the middle of the night\, the comm
 unity can arise with their food fully digested. In the time remaining afte
 r Vigils\, those who need to learn some of the psalter or readings should 
 study them.\n\nBetween Easter and the first of November mentioned above\, 
 the time for Vigils should be adjusted so that a very short interval after
  Vigils will give the members opportunity to care for nature's needs. Then
 \, at daybreak\, Lauds should follow immediately.</i>\n\nAmong the Sayings
  of the Desert Monastics there is a story that may explain best Benedict's
  terse\, clear instructions on prayer:\n\nOnce upon a time the disciples a
 sked Abba Agathon\, 'Amongst all good works\, which is the virtue which re
 quires the greatest effort?' Abba Agathon answered\, 'I think there is no 
 labor greater than that of prayer to God. For every time we want to pray\,
  our enemies\, the demons\, want to prevent us\, for they know that it is 
 only by turning us from prayer that they can hinder our journey. What ever
  good work a person undertakes\, if they persevere in it\, they will attai
 n rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath.'\n\nThere are three dime
 nsions of the treatment of prayer in the Rule of Benedict that deserve spe
 cial attention. In the first place\, it is presented immediately after the
  chapter on humility. In the second place\, it is not a treatise on privat
 e prayer. In the third place\, it is scriptural rather than personal. Pray
 er is\, then\, the natural response of people who know their place in the 
 universe. It is not designed to be a psychological comfort zone though sur
 ely comfort it must. And lastly\, it is an act of community and an act of 
 awareness.\n\nPrayer\, as Abba Agathon implies\, is hard and taxing and de
 manding work. It breaks us open to the designs of God for life. It brings 
 great insights and it demands great responses. It is based on the psalms\,
  the very prayers that formed Jesus himself. And\, most of all\, it is unc
 easing. Day and night\, Benedict says\, day and night we must present ours
 elves before the face of God and beg for the insight and the courage it wi
 ll take to go the next step.\n\nThere are volumes written on the structure
  and the history of the Divine Office: psalms\, scripture readings and pra
 yers that are identified as the official prayer of the church. What is mos
 t noteworthy here is not so much the ordering of the parts of the Office w
 hich Benedict himself says in another place is not absolute but the demons
 tration of humanity that undergirds the place of the Divine Office in the 
 life of the monastic. The way Benedict deals with prayer says a great deal
  about the place of prayer in the life of us all even fifteen centuries la
 ter.\n\nAt first reading\, the prayer life of Benedict's communities seems
  to be inhumanly rigorous and totally incompatible with modern life\, eith
 er religious or lay. The monks are 'to arise at the eighth hour of the nig
 ht\,' the Rule says and that is at least impossible for most people if not
  downright fanatical or destructive. It is important for a modern reader t
 o realize\, however\, that the Roman night in a world without electric lig
 hts was computed from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am\, from sundown to sunup. In this 
 culture\, in other words\, the monks went naturally to bed at about 6:00 p
 m. To wake at the eighth hour\, then\, was to wake at about 2:00 am\, afte
 r eight full hours of sleep and the natural restoration of the body\, to u
 se the remaining hours before the beginning of the workday in prayer and s
 tudy. The difference between us and the early monastic communities is that
  we extend our days at the end of them. We go to bed hours after sundown. 
 They extended their days at the beginning of them\; they got up hours befo
 re sunrise. The only question\, given the fact that we both extend the wor
 kday hours\, is what we do with the time. We stay up and watch television 
 or go to parties or prolong our office hours. We fill our lives with the m
 undane. They got up to pray and to study the scriptures. They filled their
  souls with the sacred.
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UID:15f75722-898b-4726-8a89-69ff783b451d
DTSTAMP:20260412T080811Z
DESCRIPTION:<i>During the winter season\, that is\, from the first of Novem
 ber until Easter\, it seems reasonable to arise at the eighth hour of the 
 night. By sleeping until a little past the middle of the night\, the commu
 nity can arise with their food fully digested. In the time remaining after
  Vigils\, those who need to learn some of the psalter or readings should s
 tudy them.\n\nBetween Easter and the first of November mentioned above\, t
 he time for Vigils should be adjusted so that a very short interval after 
 Vigils will give the members opportunity to care for nature's needs. Then\
 , at daybreak\, Lauds should follow immediately.</i>\n\nAmong the Sayings 
 of the Desert Monastics there is a story that may explain best Benedict's 
 terse\, clear instructions on prayer:\n\nOnce upon a time the disciples as
 ked Abba Agathon\, 'Amongst all good works\, which is the virtue which req
 uires the greatest effort?' Abba Agathon answered\, 'I think there is no l
 abor greater than that of prayer to God. For every time we want to pray\, 
 our enemies\, the demons\, want to prevent us\, for they know that it is o
 nly by turning us from prayer that they can hinder our journey. What ever 
 good work a person undertakes\, if they persevere in it\, they will attain
  rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath.'\n\nThere are three dimen
 sions of the treatment of prayer in the Rule of Benedict that deserve spec
 ial attention. In the first place\, it is presented immediately after the 
 chapter on humility. In the second place\, it is not a treatise on private
  prayer. In the third place\, it is scriptural rather than personal. Praye
 r is\, then\, the natural response of people who know their place in the u
 niverse. It is not designed to be a psychological comfort zone though sure
 ly comfort it must. And lastly\, it is an act of community and an act of a
 wareness.\n\nPrayer\, as Abba Agathon implies\, is hard and taxing and dem
 anding work. It breaks us open to the designs of God for life. It brings g
 reat insights and it demands great responses. It is based on the psalms\, 
 the very prayers that formed Jesus himself. And\, most of all\, it is unce
 asing. Day and night\, Benedict says\, day and night we must present ourse
 lves before the face of God and beg for the insight and the courage it wil
 l take to go the next step.\n\nThere are volumes written on the structure 
 and the history of the Divine Office: psalms\, scripture readings and pray
 ers that are identified as the official prayer of the church. What is most
  noteworthy here is not so much the ordering of the parts of the Office wh
 ich Benedict himself says in another place is not absolute but the demonst
 ration of humanity that undergirds the place of the Divine Office in the l
 ife of the monastic. The way Benedict deals with prayer says a great deal 
 about the place of prayer in the life of us all even fifteen centuries lat
 er.\n\nAt first reading\, the prayer life of Benedict's communities seems 
 to be inhumanly rigorous and totally incompatible with modern life\, eithe
 r religious or lay. The monks are 'to arise at the eighth hour of the nigh
 t\,' the Rule says and that is at least impossible for most people if not 
 downright fanatical or destructive. It is important for a modern reader to
  realize\, however\, that the Roman night in a world without electric ligh
 ts was computed from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am\, from sundown to sunup. In this c
 ulture\, in other words\, the monks went naturally to bed at about 6:00 pm
 . To wake at the eighth hour\, then\, was to wake at about 2:00 am\, after
  eight full hours of sleep and the natural restoration of the body\, to us
 e the remaining hours before the beginning of the workday in prayer and st
 udy. The difference between us and the early monastic communities is that 
 we extend our days at the end of them. We go to bed hours after sundown. T
 hey extended their days at the beginning of them\; they got up hours befor
 e sunrise. The only question\, given the fact that we both extend the work
 day hours\, is what we do with the time. We stay up and watch television o
 r go to parties or prolong our office hours. We fill our lives with the mu
 ndane. They got up to pray and to study the scriptures. They filled their 
 souls with the sacred.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260611T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260611T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 8
SUMMARY:The Divine Office at Night
END:VEVENT
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